Congratulations are very much in order as Nova Pioneer and TTA graduate from the class of 2021, Peter Kolenyo, this week, committed to join Cardinal Stritch University on a 67% soccer scholarship.
Peter made the decision after receiving offers and interest from various universities including Amherst University, Manor College, Irvine Valley, Whatcom University, Pima College and others.
Cardinal Stritch is one of the most consistent NAIA Men’s soccer programs in the United States, having qualified for the NAIA National Tournament in 4 out of the past 6 years.
Peter is a graduate of the True Talents of Africa Football Academy residential program at Nova Pioneer Boys where he excelled not only on the field but also off the field, scoring high marks in his KCSE Exams in 2021.
We are extremely proud of him and we wish him well in his journey! He is set to travel to the US in August and is currently training with the TTA Football Academy’s Under 21 team.
Peter joins the list of Nova TTA Graduates headed to the US this August on Soccer scholarships which includes Cedric Mucui, Kennedy Obanda and Derrick Onyango.
Congratulations are in order as TTA Striker, Daryl Joseph has officially committed to joining Northern Oklahoma College on a 55% soccer scholarship through TTA’s Special SRUSA program. Daryl made the decision after receiving offers and interest from Fulton Montgomery, Eastern Oklahoma State College, and Phelps School.
Daryl, has been an exemplary performer for True Talents of Africa’s Under 21 team for the past 9 months and was therefore inducted into TTA’s SRUSA Program that offers players soccer scholarship opportunities to study and play in the United States.
He is now set to join one of the top Junior College programs in the US in Northern Oklahoma.
We wish him well in his journey! And we are extremely proud of him! His consistency and commitment have been a testimony to us all!
Daryl, a graduate of Brookhurst International School in Kiserian, is due to travel in August 2022, and he joins a list of 4 other TTA Students making the same trip including, Cedric Mucui, Kennedy Obanda, Peter Kolenyo and Derrick Onyango.
Several years ago, I remember staying with my aunt and uncle in Kansas City, Missouri USA. At the time, I was working as a youth coach whilst playing at the U23 level in the USL 2 (formerly known as the PDL). The season had just ended. Earlier that year I had also competed in my final college season with the University of Rio Grande where we were crowned NAIA National Champions.
That summer was a crucial time for me because I was preparing for some prospective trials at different teams. It was a time of a lot of uncertainty and anxiety because of all the questions I had over the next step in my career. For 3 or 4 months, I was not signed by any team. It was tough.
During that time, I learnt something about professional football.
It’s Nothing like you think it is…
Every young boy has a dream of playing in the biggest leagues internationally. But as we say in Nairobi “kwa ground, vitu ni different” (On the ground, things are different).
I’m not sure where I heard this but I was once told that in the world of Professional football, there are three kinds of footballers:
The top 1% – These are the Messis, the Ronaldos, the Neymars… that live a life most of us can’t even imagine. They are at the pinnacle of the sport.
Then there is the 30% – These are the professional players that play in high level leagues across the world and live a comfortable lifestyle.
And then there is the other 70%… who nobody ever talks about – these are the professionals/semi-professionals who live contract to contract, constantly uncertain of their future and for the most part struggling to support themselves with their football.
I have been part of the 70% and I will tell you from experience… it’s not for everyone. When I was living in Kansas City, I worked out 6 times a week. sometimes twice a day. I was in the gym in the mornings, I would go coach, and then train at night with different teams. The reason I wanted to share this experience with people is because they think that the journey they’re on is hard… but they have no idea just how hard it is.
What you should do now
At True Talents of Africa, we put most of our athletes on a holiday workout program for the next few weeks as the COVID-19 Pandemic subsides (we pray). The workouts are 4 times a week and are designed to focus on football actions to improve their explosiveness and technical ability. It hurts me to say that most of our students aren’t even committed enough to complete their workouts.
The reason it hurts me is because I remember being like them—having a dream I knew nothing about. They want to play in the biggest leagues in the world but they don’t want to commit themselves to getting better every day. It saddens me.
So, I write this for any aspiring footballer, and athlete. I want you to know that it’s what you do in the dark when nobody is around that will determine what you do under the lights when everybody is watching.
90% of anything worth doing is boring and monotonous and tiresome, but that’s exactly why it’s so hard to do, because few people are willing to make that sacrifice. You don’t suddenly become professional at anything; you are a professional every day until you become one.
